Calculators / Investments & growth
Investments & growth
SIP Calculator India
Calculate what a monthly SIP grows into, using the honest monthly rate most tools skip. ₹10,000 a month becomes about ₹92 lakh in 20 years, not a crore, and compounding does the heavy lifting.
₹10,000 a month for 20 years at 12% grows to ₹91.99 lakh, not a crore. You put in ₹24 lakh; ₹68 lakh is growth.
| Time horizon | Monthly SIP for ₹1 crore |
|---|---|
| 15 years | ₹21,011 |
| 20 years | ₹10,871 |
| 25 years | ₹5,875 |
See how much the years do the work: start earlier and the monthly figure drops sharply. For any target and horizon, the Goal planner works back from the goal to the monthly number.
About the SIP calculator
A SIP puts a fixed amount into a mutual fund every month. The point is not the amount, it is the years: small monthly sums, left alone, become large ones. Below the tool is what the number means, how it is worked out, what it leaves out, and how to size it to your own life.
Your SIP by life stage
What does ₹10,000 a month actually become?
At a 12% long-run assumption over 20 years, about ₹92 lakh, of which roughly ₹24 lakh is what you put in and the rest is growth. That is a before-tax, before-inflation figure. Change the numbers above to see your own case.
How is a SIP return calculated?
First, an honest word on what is really happening. An equity SIP does not earn a fixed monthly return, and nothing compounds neatly month by month; the value of your units moves with the market, up and down, every day. The calculator cannot predict that, so it does something simpler: it takes the single annual return you assume and spreads it evenly across the months, only to draw a smooth projection. The one thing to get right is how you split that annual return into a monthly one. The honest split for 12% is about 0.95% a month, written as (1+r)^(1/12) minus 1, not a flat 1%. The next answer shows why that small difference is worth a few lakh.
Why do some calculators show a crore when this shows ₹92 lakh?
Because they take a shortcut in the maths, and it inflates the result. To grow a monthly amount you need the return for one month. The tempting move is to take 12% and divide by 12, which gives 1% a month. It looks right, but it is not: 1% every month, compounded, comes to about 12.7% over the year, not 12%. So that calculator is assuming a higher return than you asked for, without saying so, and over 20 years on a ₹10,000 SIP the gap is close to ₹8 lakh. The honest monthly figure for a 12% year is about 0.95%, and this calculator uses it. Same inputs, a smaller and truer number.
| Method | Monthly rate used | ₹10k, 20y, 12% |
|---|---|---|
| Shortcut: 12% / 12 | 1.000% | ₹99.91 lakh |
| Correct: (1.12)^(1/12) - 1 | 0.949% | ₹91.99 lakh |
Same inputs, about ₹8 lakh apart. This calculator uses the correct rate.
Is a 12% return realistic?
It is a common long-run planning assumption for diversified Indian equity, not a promise, and returns never arrive in a straight line. A 20-year window can still end in a weak patch. If you want a margin of safety, plan on 10 or 11% and treat anything above that as a bonus. The 25-year record of the Nifty shows what long horizons have actually done.
What will ₹92 lakh be worth in today's money?
Less than it sounds. At 6% inflation, ₹92 lakh in 20 years buys about what ₹29 lakh buys today. The corpus is real, but its purchasing power is smaller than the headline. The honest way to plan is to fix the target in today's money and then inflate it.
Does it account for expense ratio and tax?
No, and both matter. If your 12% is the index's return, your fund's expense ratio comes out of it: an active fund charging about 1% a year turns a 12% index into roughly 11% for you, which brings ₹92 lakh down to about ₹82 lakh over 20 years. And the corpus is before tax, since equity gains are taxed as capital gains when you sell. Treat the figure as the gross, best-case number.
How much should I invest?
Work backwards from a goal, not forwards from a round number. Decide what you are buying and when, a home, a child's education, your own freedom, then size the SIP to reach it. The Goal planner does exactly this: enter the target and the years, and it returns the monthly amount. If you are not sure where to start, the Money Checkup points to the one move that matters most for you.
Flat SIP, or step it up each year?
A flat SIP is a shrinking SIP. Inflation and your own rising lifestyle eat into a fixed amount every year, so the same debit sends a smaller slice of you forward over time. Raising it about 10% a year tracks your appraisal and keeps your rising income invested. Start as high as you can now, because early rupees compound the longest, then top up. More in the step-up guide, and you can model it in the step-up SIP calculator.
How long should I stay invested?
As long as you can. Equity rewards horizon more than timing. Over 25 years of the Nifty, no ten-year holding period ended in a loss, and the longer you held, the more the odds moved your way. See the record.
SIP or one lump sum?
If you have the money now and the nerve to sit through dips, a lump sum has longer to compound. For salaried income arriving monthly, a SIP fits the cash flow and takes the timing decision off your plate.
What is the minimum SIP amount?
Most funds allow ₹500 a month, and some go as low as ₹100. There is no upper limit. The right amount is the one you can keep through a lean month, not the largest one you can manage today.
Can I pause or change a SIP?
Yes. You can raise, lower, pause, or stop a SIP whenever you like; it is your instruction to the fund, not a lock-in. Stopping a SIP is not the same as redeeming: your existing units stay invested and keep compounding.
Is a SIP the same as a mutual fund?
No. A mutual fund is what you own; a SIP is only the way you buy it, a fixed amount at a fixed interval. You can buy the same fund as a lump sum instead. The SIP is a habit, not a product.